1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electric branch connecting device wherewith a plurality of lateral (X-directional, hereafter) electric wires and longitudinal (Y-directional, hereafter) electric wires nearly perpendicular to them are branch-connected to each other.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are those disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Provisional Publication No. 2-30222/1990 and No. 4-123071/1992, and in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 10-312837/1998 as background art for branch connecting devices, wherewith lateral electric wires and longitudinal wires are branch-connected using this type of crimp contact.
FIG. 1 shows a branch connecting device 1 disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 10-312837. The branch connecting device 1 consists of a middle case 2 with a plurality of stair-like contact surfaces formed on both a top and a bottom surface thereof, and an upper case 3 and a lower case 4 having each of a plurality of lap surfaces to be lapped on each contact surface of both top and bottom surfaces of the middle case 2.
A plurality of contact insert holes 2a for inserting crimp contacts 5 are formed on each contact surface of the middle case, and wire fixing slots 2b are also formed on each contact surface of the top surface of said middle case 2.
The same number of stair-like step portions as that of lap surfaces on the bottom surface thereof are formed on the top surface of the upper case 3, and wire insert holes 3a for inserting x-directional wires 7A are formed on a vertical wall of each said step portion. Besides, a contact insert recess, not shown in the Figure, is formed at a location, on each lap surface of the bottom surface of the upper case 3, opposing to each contact insert hole 2a of the middle case 2. Each of the contact insert recesses is channeled to each wire Insert hole 3a, and one end of an x-directional wire 7A is exposed in each said contact insert recess.
The same number of stair-like step portions as that of lap surfaces on the bottom surface thereof are formed on the bottom surface of the lower case 4, and wire insert holes, not shown in the Figure, for inserting x-directional wires 7B are formed on a vertical wall of each said step portion. Besides. a contact insert recess 4b is formed at a location, on each lap surface of the top surface of the lower case 4, opposing to each contact insert hole 2a of the middle case 2. Each of the contact insert recesses 4b is channeled to each said wire insert hole, and one end of an x-directional wire 7B is exposed in each said contact insert recess 4b. 
A crimp contact 5 comprises a pair of middle crimp portions 5a, 5a for pressure-bonding a halfway portion of an electric wire 6 in the middle case 2, an upper crimp portion 5b for pressure bonding an end of an electric wire 7A in the uppercase 3, and a lower crimp portion 5c for pressure-bonding an end of an electric wire 7B in the lower case 4. Then, engaging crimp contacts 5 in contact insert holes 2a at prescribed locations where branch circuits of the middle case 2 must be connected, by means of lapping each lap surface on the bottom surface of the upper case 3 and each lap surface on the top surface of the lower case 4 onto each contact surface on both top and bottom surfaces of said middle case 2, electric wires 7A in the upper case 3 are pressure-bonded to upper crimp portions 5b of crimp contacts 5, and electric wires 75 in the lower case 4 are pressure-bonded to lower crimp portions 5c of crimp contacts 5, and accordingly x-directional wires 7A, 7B are branch-connected to Y-directional wire 6. Consequently, interference between each of the electric wires 7A in the upper case 3 and between each of the electric wires 7B in the lower case 4 is prevented.
However, with regard to said conventional branch connecting device 1. the size Z in vertical direction (height) has occurred to increase through lapping the upper case 3 and the lower case 4 on both top and bottom surfaces of the middle case 2 in order to branch-connect each electric wire 6, 7A, 7B, and a total size of the branch connecting device 1 has gotten larger consequently. Therefore, the branch connecting device 1 has been inferior in mountability at amounting area where it is equipped.
Besides, with regard to the branch connecting devices disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Provisional Publication No. 2-30222 and No. 4-123071, since the usable area for branch-connection is limited because of almost coplanar arrangement of X-directional plural wires and Y-directional plural wires, a broad area has become an unusable dead space and space has never been utilized efficiently.
The present invention was issued in order to solve the problems described above, and aims to provide a branch connecting device wherewith simplification and miniaturization of structure can be accomplished and further a number of various branch-connections can be easily done in a short time.
The invention described in claim 1 is a branch connecting device having a connecting device body having a top surface and a bottom surface, a plurality of crimp contacts disposed at prescribed locations of said connecting device body, and a plurality of electric wires being electrically wired crosswise each other in a lateral direction and a longitudinal direction of said connecting device body, wherein branch circuits is formed by pressure-bonding a plurality of said electric wires to a plurality of said crimp contacts, each of odd-numbered wires of a plurality of said electric wires are wired in the lateral and longitudinal direction on one of either top or bottom surface of said connecting device body, said odd-numbered wires are pressure-bonded to the prescribed crimp contacts disposed on said one surface, each of even-numbered wires of a plurality of said electric wires are electrically wired in the lateral and longitudinal direction on the other of either top or bottom surface of said connecting device body, and said even-numbered wires are pressure-bonded to the prescribed crimp contacts disposed on said other surface.
With regard to this branch connecting device, since a plurality of wires in a lateral and a longitudinal direction are electrically wired crosswise each other on both top and bottom surfaces of the connecting device body, and since each wire is made branch-connected by means of a crimp contact, therefore simplification and miniaturization of a total structure of the branch connecting device can be achieved. According to this fact, a number of various branch connections of electric wires are made probable, and the device contributes a great deal to space saving of a mounting area. Besides, each adjacent wire can maintain a clearance of one wire between each other, so that a mechanical or an electromagnetic interference between crimp contacts and wires as well as between crimp contacts can surely be avoided.
The invention described in claim 2 is a branch connecting device of claim 1, wherein each crimp contact disposed on both top and bottom surfaces of said connecting device body has respectively a pair of segments opposite to each other being formed into an approximately rectangular pipe-like structure, and a pair of said segments include approximately V-shaped crimp portions whose deepest positions are at least by the thickness of a wire different from those of adjacent segments, and the pair of crimp contacts almost opposite to each other on said top and bottom surfaces include link tabs or link terminals, and further the pair of said crimp contacts are detachable and also attachable at the same time (detachable/attachable, hereafter) by means of said link tabs and link terminals.
With regard to this branch connecting device, since crimp contacts having V-shaped crimp portions with the deepest positions, defined by at least the thickness of a wire, different from those of adjacent segments are disposed at the locations almost opposite to one another on both top and bottom surfaces of the connecting device body, and since these crimp contacts are detachable/attachable with one another by means of link tabs and link terminals, therefore a total of 4 wires consisting of 2 wires on the top surface and 2 wires on the bottom surface of the connecting device body can be easily branch-connected with a pair of crimp contacts, and duration of bonding them is shortened. Besides, as pressure bonding can be carried out keeping a pitch between each of adjacent wires constant, automation of branch-connecting operation is made probable.